Anastacia is famous.
She has sold 10 million albums, garnered generous critical praise, graced the covers of popular magazines and won a slew of awards.
Of course, all that was in Europe.
Except for her recent duet with Celine Dion on VH1's Divas Las Vegas, the New York-raised performer would be just another aspiring pop star competing in an already-crowded American field.
Her record company, Epic, is betting she will be well known before long. Besides the VH1 appearance, Anastacia sings "Boom," touted as the official song of the 2002 World Cup soccer matches. Hip-hop artist Faith Evans lends additional credibility with her appearance on Anastacia's American debut, Freak of Nature.
If her popularity and success transfer across the Atlantic, Anastacia will find herself in impressive company - Jimi Hendrix conquered England with a Stratocaster before his genius caught on back home. Times have changed, though, and introducing new artists in America today is as much about marketing as music.
When Anastacia talks about capturing public attention in the United States, she mentions her music, but she also speaks in terms of markets and moving units of product. It's not that the songs don't deserve mention. Anastacia has a powerful voice with a soulful edge that evokes '70s R&B;, and she co-wrote the solid, professional songs on Freak of Nature. Still, talent clearly isn't a prerequisite for success when so much of pop music is image-driven.
And popularity in Europe is no guarantee of catching on in the United States. Just ask the Butterflies of Love.
The band is popular overseas, where it headlines sold-out club shows and has drawn rave reviews from the Times of London and New Musical Express magazine. The German version of Rolling Stone named one of the band's singles, "Rob a Bank," the eighth best song of the '90s, but the group is virtually unknown here at home.
Breaking onto the American music scene is complicated enough that the Butterflies aren't even sure where to begin.
"You can't get on national radio. There isn't any national radio," says Jeffrey Greene, who plays guitar and sings in the Butterflies. "I can't mail my video to MTV and [have them] play it, [but] I can send it to German TV and they'll put it on."
The compact size of countries in Europe can work to an artist's advantage - for example, it means there are fewer media outlets to target in each country. In the United States, there are nearly 1,500 Top 40, adult contemporary and similar radio stations, and scores of TV outlets.
"It's unbelievable the difference in networking you have to do to make a small dent, never mind a big dent," Anastacia says.
The singer has the advantage of a publicist and a record company in the United States, but their support doesn't guarantee commercial triumph.
"I love the fact that I have to earn my success here," she says. "I know that the journey is different here. All you need is like two TV shows in one [European] country and you're extra famous."
While the Butterflies of Love aren't much concerned with achieving American rock stardom, Anastacia thinks she knows what it will take to succeed at home - good songs, impressive live performances and mutual respect with fans.
"I don't need to do anything different, and I haven't done anything different yet," Anastacia says. "I haven't changed my show, I haven't changed my look."
Ultimately, success on the American scene will depend on factors out of Anastacia's control - musical taste is, after all, subjective. But she isn't worried.
"If there's a space for me in this industry, I will find it," she says.
Eric R. Danton writes for the Hartford Courant, a Tribune Publishing newspaper.